People v. Thomas
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of the first degree murder of Creed Grote and the attempted murder of Troy Ortiz. Defendant was also convicted of the second degree murder of Ricky McDonald. As special circumstances of the Grote murder, the jury found that defendant laid in wait, discharged a firearm from a vehicle with intent to inflict death, and committed multiple murders. The jury also found that defendant personally used a firearm in the commission of the Grote/Ortiz crimes, and that he thereby intended to inflict great bodily injury or death upon Grote. Finally, the jury found that defendant had two prior serious felony convictions within the meaning of the "Three Strikes" law and therefore, defendant was sentenced to death. On automatic appeal, the court considered numerous guilt phase issues and penalty phase issues and ultimately affirmed the judgment.
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